This chapter aims to further understanding of the meaning and significance of the concept of modernity by exploring the distinctiveness of life in modern societies. It will highlight the many ways in which structural changes, often of global proportion, have altered and continue to alter our everyday experience. In particular, the chapter will consider the impact of four key processes of modernity: the development of industrial capitalism; the growth of rational forms of thought and organisation; the rise of the nation-state; and the separation of social life into "public" and "private" realms.